As a candidate of the next-generation wireless communication system, 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16m are being developed. The IEEE 802.16m standard involves the two aspects of the past continuation (i.e., an amendment to the existing IEEE 802.16e standard) and the future continuation (i.e., a standard for the next-generation IMT-Advanced system). Accordingly, the IEEE 802.16m standard is required to fulfill all advanced requirements for the IMT-Advanced system while maintaining compatibility with a Mobile WiMAX system based on the IEEE 802.16e standard.
In general, a wireless communication system uses one bandwidth in order to transmit data. For example, the 2nd generation wireless communication system uses a bandwidth of 200 kHz to 1.25 MHz, and the 3rd wireless communication system uses a bandwidth of 5 MHz to 10 MHz. In order to support an increasing capacity of data transmission, a recent 3GPP LTE or 802.16m system continues to extend its bandwidth up to 20 MHz or higher. In order to increase the transmission capacity, it is indispensable to extend the bandwidth. However, to support a great bandwidth even through a required quality of service is low may result in high power consumption.
Therefore, there is emerging a multi-carrier system which defines a carrier having one bandwidth and a central frequency and can transmit or receive or both data by using a wideband through a plurality of carriers. That is, both the narrow band and the wideband are supported by using one or more carriers. For example, assuming that a single carrier corresponds to a bandwidth of 5 MHz, a bandwidth of up to 20 MHz can be supported by using four carriers.
The IEEE 802.16m system supports an Enhanced Multicast Broadcast Service (E-MBS). The E-MBS is a point-to-multipoint system in which data packets are transmitted at the same time from one source to a plurality of destinations. Broadcast refers to a capability to transmit contents to all users. Multicast refers to contents directed toward a specific group of users who are subscribed in order to receive specific service. Static multicast and dynamic multicast can be supported.
In a wireless communication system supporting multiple carriers, MBS can be received using an MBS configuration message. There is a need for a method of receiving the MBS by distinguishing a case where the MBS configuration message is transmitted through a primary carrier from a case where the MBS configuration message is transmitted through a secondary carrier.